North American stock markets plunged again amid new concerns about the spreading of novel coronavirus and uncertainty over the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 225.54 points at 16,553.99.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 969.58 points at 26,121.28. The S&P 500 index was down 106.18 points at 3,023.94, while the Nasdaq composite was down 279.49 points at 8,738.60.

The Canadian dollar traded for US74.54¢ compared with an average of US74.67¢ on Wednesday.

The April crude contract was down US88¢ at US$45.90 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down US5.5¢ at US$1.77 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up US$25 at US$1,668.00 an ounce and the May copper contract was down US1.3¢ at US$2.57 a pound.